A Beautiful Friendship
by HotandCole
Summary: Darryl befriends Cole after his failed suicide attempt and sets the stage for a beautiful reunion between Cole and Phoebe.
1. Default Chapter

These characters do not belong to me. I'm merely taking them out for a walk and promise to deliver them back to the writers and producers of "Charmed" completely intact and unharmed. I hope you enjoy this first installment of my very first fan fic for "Charmed." If you like it, I'll be happy to write more. Feedback will be greatly appreciated.  
  
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It was a showdown between two determined and gifted athletes on the racketball court. It was Cole's serve and he was down by one. The sweat dripped down his cheeks, glistened on his naked and well defined torso, and nestled in the patch of hair on his chest. The determination in those intense blue eyes would have broken any richter scale and sent shivers of fear into any other opponent, but this one.  
  
If Cole lost this point the game would be over and he'd owe Darryl lunch. Of course as a partner of Jackman, Carter, Kline and Turner, he could afford the lunch, but that wasn't the point. Cole didn't like to lose, in fact he hated it. Losing Phoebe was proof enough of that. He'd even tried to kill himself over it not long ago, not that Phoebe cared or anyone else for that matter except Darryl. What a surprise he turned out to be. If it weren't for Darryl, he wouldn't have been here today, sane, sober and more alive than he'd felt in over a year.  
  
It all began the morning Cole woke up in the ruins of his penthouse with the worst hangover of his life and wished for the second time that he was dead...but he wasn't. Instead of finding release from the pain that gripped his heart like a vice, he was being made to suffer for his past crimes in the worst way he could imagine, by becoming invincible. Karma really was a b**ch.  
  
Just as he'd decided to sleep off his depression and hangover for the next one hundred or so years, and wake up in another century on his bi- centennial birthday, an urgent knock on the door ended this plan and Cole barely managed to scoop himself off his couch and shuffle to the door. He couldn't imagine who would have bothered to visit him. He'd taken an indefinite leave of absence from his law firm, he had no friends or family with whom he was on speaking terms and the only person he actually cared anything at all about declared the night before that she wanted to vanquish him on her own terms. Of course at this point, there wasn't much left of him to care about.. He was a shell of his former self, a love sick puppy with a bleeding heart dripping blood all over the Halliwell's fine, white carpeting. They never could stand messy situations or complicated ones.  
  
Everything always had to be black or white with them. If he didn't have his powers, he was good. If he had them, he was evil, and if he was the Source, he had to be vanquished without deference to how he became that way or why. There was no room for explanations. Once a demon, always a demon. He seemed to be the only one who knew all the sacrifices he made for Phoebe's sake to prove he was good. He even gave himself up to the Hollow, suspecting the Seer was up to no good, but did it anyway to save her and her sister's lives. He laid down his humanity on Phoebe's doorstep, and she stomped on it till he was finally broken.  
  
Cole opened the door and nearly shut it again on Darryl, except that he'd cleverly wedged his foot in the doorway and entered forcibly. He'd come to answer complaints about what neighbors described as a "bomb blast" that occurred the night before.  
  
Cole kept his eyes and his head leveled on Darryl while over his shoulder, he waved an arm and everything was like new again. The windows were repaired the holes, sealed and the furniture reassembled. Cole smiled and said, "Problem solved. You can go now."  
  
"I can go now. I oughtta tell you where to go, Cole. The problem's not solved. You're the problem, one I'd like to see removed. You were gonna leave town a few months back. I told you then it was a good idea. It's an even better one now. Why don't you just go and leave the Halliwells alone, especially Phoebe. You've put her and her family through enough."  
  
Cole laughed. "If you only knew just how far I tried to go last night...only I couldn't."  
  
All the telltale signs were there; the break in his voice, the manic desperation in his eyes. Darryl had been a detective long enough to know that this man was teetering very near the edge if not already over it. Beside the couch, he saw four empty bottles of Chivas Regal neatly stacked in a row on the floor and a note lay beside it.  
  
Darryl instinctively felt for his gun, making sure it didn't unexpectedly fall into Cole's hands with a wave of his arm and looked around the room for weapons he might have used to kill himself. Over the two and a half years he knew him, Darryl never really did make up his mind whether he liked Cole or not. The only thing he did know, which was in his favor, was that he'd give up his life for Phoebe. Other than that, Cole played it close to the vest, and wasn't exactly the most welcoming kind of guy, unlike like Leo, the poster boy for warm and fuzzy. And yet, something about seeing him in his place, alone and vulnerable, made Darryl more curious than usual to know what made this guy tick.  
  
"Look man, I can't pretend to know what you're going through right now, but I can listen."  
  
Feeling the need to unload, without knowing why exactly, Cole wordlessly led Darryl into his living room where the two men talked for the next three hours. Darryl listened while Cole relayed the events that occurred before and after the Hollow. Darryl listened with skepticism while Cole painted himself to be the martyr and Darryl was not buying a word of it until his eyes drifted to the floor and he read the opened letter that was addressed to Phoebe. It got to him. Cole's words penetrated the thick layer of doubt and a connection was made. Darryl listened with an opened mind after that and the pieces fell correctly into their rightful places.  
  
He believed him, believed there had to be good in any man who could beat down his own demon to love so deeply and decided then and there that he was going to help Cole, not to get Phoebe back but to expand on the kernel of humanity that got him to this point. He had a plan already in mind and within two weeks with Cole's reluctant consent, Darryl enrolled Cole in the Big Brother program he'd begun at the precinct.  
  
That's it for tonight. Will write more soon. 


	2. Big Brother

Lots more to come. Hope you enjoy. Feel free to let me know.  
  
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Darryl thought that if he could get Cole interested in anyone other than Phoebe, it would take him out of himself long enough to drop the suicide idea and perhaps he'd be doing the Halliwells and Phoebe in particular a huge favor by getting him out of their hair for a while.  
  
Cole never saw himself as the fatherly type or even the brotherly type for that matter. Until Phoebe and her sisters -- who were mostly annoying but surprisingly tolerable at times -- came along, the only family he'd ever known was a severely dysfunctional one. His father despised his mother, his mother murdered his father and young Cole watched it all unfold in front of his young eyes. He'd learned to rely only on himself for survival, distrusted everyone including his mother and only allowed friendship in when it served a useful purpose. Up until he'd opted for suicide, Cole was a survivor at all costs, and not much of a role model. Of course, Phoebe changed things, made him believe that there was a Santa Claus and his Grinch's heart grew large enough to become an easy target for destruction under Phoebe's studded heels.  
  
Since he couldn't kill himself, he was willing to try anything else, even this, though really it was laughable. "Me, a big brother, Darryl. That's like inviting the devil to babysit your child. Do you really know what you're doing?"  
  
They were standing in a junior high gymnasium in there sweats on a Saturday. Darryl tossed Cole a basketball and ordered him to dribble. "You do play b-ball, don't you Cole? Or do they not have that sport down there?" he joked.  
  
"Not only do they have basketball, Darryl, but I was the Source's captain, ten years running and if my team lost...well let's just say my head would've become the basketball."  
  
Darryl shuddered. "You are joking, man right?"  
  
"Don't be so sure, Cole smiled, giving nothing away and then dribbled past him scoring the first basket.  
  
An hour later, their tanks were dripping with the sweat of their exertions and Darryl stopped to look at his watch.  
  
"You giving up? Come on, I'll spot you ten points, next game," Cole said egging him on.  
  
"Yeah, like I need your charity. I'm the one who scraped your ass off the pavement, when you were ready to give up in a big way and don't forget it."  
  
"That still remains to be seen. You haven't done anything for me yet," Cole reminded him.  
  
"The kid's a half hour late," Darryl replied. "They said he'd be here on time. I don't understand it."  
  
"Well, maybe the kid's got sense enough not to show," Cole said with a mixture of relief and disappointment. He didn't want to be anyone's big brother but he sure could use a distraction to stop the incessant heartache that still pushed at the door of his sanity. "So, as I see it, you have one of two options: You can either buy me the beers you owe me for the games I won or we can play one more for all the marbles, what do ya say?"  
  
"I say, he's here." And not a moment too soon, Darryl thought. He didn't want to admit it but that demon was in pretty good physical shape for someone so mentally messed up. Darryl was exhausted and about ready to pass out.  
  
A thirteen year old punk, tall for his age and skinny with short, curly black hair, blue eyes and a hard and cynical set to his features, entered the gym, grabbed the ball from Darryl and swooshed it through the net for three points. He was a handsome kid, though he didn't smile even when he made the basket, and had the self assuredness that reminded Cole of himself almost too many years ago to count.  
  
"Cole Turner, I'd like you to meet Jimmy Reynolds." There was no response from either one. "Okay then," Darryl continued. "I can see you two have tons to talk about, so I'll just leave you two alone to get to know each other better. Cole, if you need me, just dial up the cell, Okay?" Again no response. "Okay?"  
  
"Yeah, sure, no worries," Cole finally replied.  
  
"How about you, Jimmie, you okay here?" Darryl asked.  
  
"Why wouldn't I be. You're not leaving me with some pedafile right?"  
  
"Cole?" Darryl asked, feigning worry.  
  
"Funny, Darryl. We'll be fine," Cole replied.  
  
Darryl turned to leave and heard Cole mutter. "Just as soon as I get past that pedafile comment."  
  
"What?" Darryl asked.  
  
"Nothing. I'll bring him back to his foster parents as soon as I'm done with him, okay?'  
  
"You mean as soon as I'm done with you," Jimmy shot back.  
  
As Darryl walked to his car he had the weird feeling that except for the age difference, Jimmie and Cole were like twins separated at birth and either Jimmie would be Cole's next scorch victim or this kid just might prove to be Cole's savior. 


	3. My Mother Happened

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement Magic and Airamn. I'll try my best to write a chapter a night.  
  
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The first meeting between Cole and Jimmie on the basketball court was a tense one to say the least. They were playing a game of one on one that went outside the boundaries of the game. Jimmie pushed Cole as far as he could with his smart mouth daring the adult to push him away like so many of his foster parents had done in the past.  
  
"How many, he wondered, were there?" Jimmie had lost count after the first half dozen and by the time he'd reached the age of nine, four years ago, his antics were too troublesome for any parent to tolerate for long and he was pawned off from home to home. He wasn't an evil child by nature, but he was conflicted and now was a pivotal point in his life where he could go either way.  
  
The kid was tough but Cole gave back as good as he got. The boy was a challenge that he'd just assume dismiss and resolved to do so when he called Darryl tonight. But then as he drove him home, something he did stuck.  
  
"See you around, mister," Jimmy said and walked up the drive with an expression that only Cole could read. It was a guarded look that Cole perfected by the age of ten. A face that said, nobody was to be trusted and no one was ever gonna get in. This kid was a survivor, had obviously been through unspeakable suffering and had come through the other end with his pride and independence in tact. But would he ever know happiness? Cole wondered. Would there ever be anyone who could break through that wall of pain to reach his humanity the way Phoebe had? It took over a hundred years for that to happen to Cole, but as far as Cole knew, this kid didn't have the luxury of that amount of time.  
  
As Jimmie reached the door, Cole decided something and called to him before he went inside. "We'll play again tomorrow, kid. I'll pick you up at eleven."  
  
Something flickered for a moment in Jimmie's expression. Maybe surprise or something else, Cole didn't know, but it was a start.  
  
"Whatever," was Jimmie's reply, which was no more than Cole could expect or hope for.  
  
When Cole reached his own door, Darryl was there waiting with a bag of take- out Chinese.  
  
"What's that?" Cole asked with obvious surprise. He didn't expect to see Darryl. In fact he really didn't expect anything from him at all. Cole figured after he'd done his bit for humanity by setting Cole up in his big brother program, that would be the last he saw of Darryl, except for the obligatory, "how's it going with the kid?" weekly interrogations that were part of the paperwork.  
  
"It's a celebration," Darryl explained.  
  
"What exactly are we celebrating?"  
  
"Getting up off the couch, sobriety, a day without obsessing over Phoebe. You name it," Darryl replied.  
  
"Well, the day's still young Darryl," Cole quipped. Smells good though. Why don't you come on in and we'll sit on the couch, get wasted and you can listen while I obsess about Phoebe."  
  
Darryl laughed, noticing that for the first time, Cole had a sense of humor, and a dry one at that.  
  
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While Cole and Darryl challenged one another to a food race with their chopsticks, in his room, Jimmy pushed aside the stale cookies he found in the cupboard next to the note that read his foster parents were out to dinner, "again," he added to himself and secretly worked in his notebook on a design for his own computer game. Though he scored incredibly high on his I.Q. test, Jimmie cared little about school, his grades reflected his apathy and no one had any idea of how creative he really was. He was engrossed with writing the mission outline for his game and didn't notice the shadow that shimmered into the corner of the room. It was the outline of a woman, though her form never solidified and she seemed to be intent on doing no more than observing Jimmie for the present time.  
  
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Cole and Darryl finished their meals and were now pitching their fortune cookies into empty cartons. Cole was the victor and informed Darryl that they were now even since Darryl had won the belching contest before.  
  
"Are you sensing a competitive pattern in this relationship?" Darryl asked good naturedly.  
  
"Why, Darryl, I didn't know we were having a relationship, but I'm deeply touched," Cole deadpanned.  
  
"Don't flatter yourself, Turner, you're too hairy for me," Darryl retorted and something in the comment struck Cole so funny he choked on his beer and snorted liquid out his nose that propelled forward with a force that hit Darryl square in the face.  
  
Darryl wiped the slime with a sleeve, saw Cole doubled over in what he thought was laughter and said, "hey man it wasn't that funny...well maybe it was," he corrected and started laughing himself until he saw Cole raise his head, and grimace in pain, the likes of which drained the color from Cole's face.  
  
Darryl ran to his side and helped him to the couch as he looked about ready to collapse. "What happened?" Darryl asked, the concern etched on his face.  
  
Cole breathed deeply, the searing pain starting to subside now. He opened his eyes, stared past Darryl and replied in a raspy voice, "My mother happened." 


	4. An Experiment Gone Wrong

Thanks evil Angel and Svata, Michelle, bblueberry and especially for you Airamn, I'll keep it coming!  
  
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"You, have a mother?" Darryl asked.  
  
"Don't look so surprised. Even the Source had one," Cole replied, fully restored and back to his wisecracking.  
  
"It's just that I never quite pictured you like the rest of us. Where is she now?" Darryl asked nervously looking around him.  
  
"She isn't here, but she's close by. I felt her. We haven't spoken in nearly fifty years. In fact, I never even told Phoebe she was alive," Cole confessed.  
  
"Why?" Darryl asked, curious to know about his past.  
  
Cole answered with a faraway look in his eye, recalling memories that were best left buried. "Because to me it was like she was dead. I wrote her off a long time ago and then when I became the Source a year ago, I figured she really was dead or she would have come to me then. You see, she'd been grooming me my whole life to take the Source's place. It was all she cared about and when I told her I didn't want the throne, she..."  
  
"Got angry," Darryl finished.  
  
Cole laughed. "Darryl, your mother gets angry, my mother gets even. You'd better sit down for this, it's a long story."  
  
"Soon after I was born, my mother left my father and me. She had no desire to nurse a baby who wasn't any use to her and so she left my father to raise me and planned to take me under her wing when I reached the age of five."  
  
"It was then she came to look for me but my dad was too clever for her. He knew what she was and hid me from her for over a year."  
  
"I remember faintly all the traveling we did from place to place, ducking all the bounty hunters she hired to find me."  
  
"It was on my sixth birthday that I acquired all my powers, as all demons do, and I discovered that I could shimmer for the first time. I shimmered into my father's den to surprise him and that's when my mother tracked me down through my shimmer."  
  
"When she came, I didn't recognize her. She was a stranger to me. I remember my father picking me up in his arms. I hugged him tightly refusing to let go. He protected me with his life and inevitably paid the price."  
  
"My mother reached for her Athame and hurtled it with precision at my father's head, killing him instantly. She hadn't planned on killing him she explained later, but she'd seen the seed of goodness he planted within me and it angered her to the point of murder."  
  
"She then called for another demon who stood over my father's body, extracted his soul and handed it to her. She would keep his soul to keep me in line, she said. If I went along with her plans one day she'd give his soul back to me so that I could resurrect him."  
  
"When the day finally arrived for my mother's rebellion forces to fight against the Source, I refused to go along. I was already an upper level demon in the Source's good graces, I enjoyed my power and had no ambitions to seek more. A part of me also enjoyed defying her and denying her the one thing she wanted above all else, to be the mother of the Source."  
  
"When I refused, she got even with me by giving my father's soul to Rainor, a demon so powerful and cunning, there'd be little chance of my ever defeating him."  
  
"The day my mother handed my father's soul over to Rainor and I realized there'd be no chance of ever seeing my father again, the same pain I felt just now tore at my insides."  
  
"My mother's back, Darryl and she wants something. If it isn't me, then it must be someone very close to me because I can feel her presence even now."  
  
"Whoa, that's some mother you've got there, Cole," Darryl said. "She makes "Mommy Dearest" look like Mother Theresa."  
  
"No kidding," Cole chuckled.  
  
"Can you use that half demon sense of yours to figure out where she is now?"  
  
Cole closed his eyes, trying to pick up on her energy, but couldn't. "No, I can't."  
  
"Why Cole you disappoint me," came the familiar, but faraway silky voice. You don't even recognize your own mother?"  
  
A billowy black curtain that hung on the window behind Cole, morphed into the form of a mature, but still beautiful raven-haired and blue-eyed demon.  
  
Cole instinctively moved to stand in front of Darryl, protecting him with his body. "What do you want, mother?" Cole barked.  
  
"I'm not interested in your human friend if that's what you 're thinking. I am amazed though that you have one. I thought I cured you of that nasty habit long ago."  
  
"You did, by killing every human friend I ever made. But, I'm not your little boy anymore. In fact, I'm no longer your son at all," Cole replied, hoping to sting his mother.  
  
His mother shrugged off the comment, waiting for the opportunity to deliver her bomb. "So, I've noticed, Cole. But, that's all right. I have another."  
  
"What's she talking about, Cole," Darryl asked. "You have a brother?"  
  
"Oh my God, Jimmie," Cole whispered.  
  
"Jimmie Reynolds? That's impossible, Darryl argued. "He's not a demon."  
  
"I didn't think so either," Cole's mother said. "But now it appears I'm wrong."  
  
"Do you mind explaining that, Mother?" Cole demanded.  
  
"Not at all. Jimmie was an experiment, much like yourself, only he'd gone wrong. You see before you were born a Seer told me that if I married a human I would give birth to the most powerful half demon that the Underworld's ever seen. The Seer guided me to your father, said he was the one and I allowed him to plant his seed. You were the result Cole. I watched you come into your powers when you were six and the Seer was right. You were the most special little half demon I've ever seen: intelligent, ruthless, and powerful. But then something happened I didn't count on and that was your disloyalty. I never imagined that you'd turn on your own mother Cole but you did. When I lost you, I simply had to try again and I did."  
  
Cole's mother pulled out the locket she wore around her neck and opened it for Cole. Inside was a piece of his hair. "I saved this for just such a purpose."  
  
"Jimmie's my clone?" Cole asked, astonished.  
  
"This is getting way too weird for me," Darryl replied.  
  
"Yeah for me too," Cole agreed. "Okay, so you got your second chance. Then why isn't Jimmie with you instead of foster care?"  
  
"Because, as I explained, he was an experiment that went wrong. I raised the brat from the time he was a baby, taking no chances that someone might upset my plans, the way your father ruined you. The day he turned six, I thought, well finally my sacrifices have paid off and my Jimmie will come into his powers; only that day never arrived. Jimmie couldn't so much as make an energy pea in his hand, or shimmer or throw fire. I kept him around another year, still foolishly hoping, but still nothing, and that's when I threw him to the streets and washed my hands of him entirely."  
  
"That's pretty cold," Darryl commented.  
  
"Awww, you haven't seen her at her best, Darryl, or should I say worst. Abandonment was actually a blessing for Jimmie. He was lucky to be rid of her."  
  
"No, I was the one who was lucky to be rid of him, or so I thought. He may have looked like you, but he wasn't you. I only felt relief when he was gone until recently."  
  
"What do you mean recently?" Cole asked, dreading the answer that he suspected was coming.  
  
"He's begun to come into his powers. Why now, I don't know. It's unheard of at this late age, but he shimmered just last week, I tracked him, and have been observing him ever since."  
  
"So, why are you here now? Why come to me? Cole asked. I'm surprised you haven't already abducted the boy, and turned him into your prodigal soldier."  
  
"He's too old for that. His mind is already too set in its ways to brainwash him. If he's going to turn to his dark side, he must do so willingly and of his own free choice, otherwise he will be useless to me. If you would just stay out of his way, I can bring him over."  
  
"So, you just expect me to step aside so you can slice open his heart the way you did mine and drain all the humanity out of him?"  
  
"Yes, essentially that's it in a nutshell, Cole. You always were the perceptive one. Now stand aside and let his mother handle him or else."  
  
"You're threatening me mother? With what, I'd like to know. When last I checked I was invincible, but you're not," Cole said forming an energy ball in his hand.  
  
"Then you'd better check again, darling. Your invincibility stems from the evil powers you acquired in the Wasteland. Do a good deed as you have already done by befriending Jimmy, relinquish your evil, and your powers grow weaker. Since this Darryl person came into your life and re- introduced you to your weaker half, your ability for doing good, your strength has already diminished. I can see it in your energy. I'm willing to bet that you're no longer invincible. If you persist in playing "Big Brother" to Jimmie, and turning him into someone weak and soft like yourself, I will have no choice but to destroy both my sons and don't think I wouldn't do it."  
  
"I would never make the mistake of thinking you had a heart, Mother. But nevertheless, bring it on."  
  
"See you in hell, my darling," Cole's mother said slowly, with a gleam in her eye that said she was equal to the challenge issued by her son.  
  
Cole watched his mother shimmer away, still holding the energy ball in his hand.  
  
"Do ya mind doin' something with that thing, Cole? Balls of fire tend to make me a little jumpy, especially around you," Darryl said.  
  
"Oh sorry, Cole said, extinguishing the fire."  
  
"So, what's your next move Cole? Are you going to back off?"  
  
"No. I'm going to do for Jimmie what I wished someone had done for me when I was his age. I'm going to save him," Cole promised, not only for Jimmie's sake but for his own. 


	5. Denial

Glad as always, Nieves, that you're enjoying this. Thank you Irena for your constructive thoughts, it's appreciated. Irena brought it to my attention that Cole's father was killed at the age of three by an energy ball and not by an Athame as depicted in my story. I'm afraid I am taking some literary license here and sometimes the events will fall outside the framework of the story depicted on TV, but I hope you'll forgive me for that and will be able to maintain your interest.  
  
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Phoebe got ready for her fifth date with Alan Jacobs. This was it, she nervously thought, my first big weekend away with him. Phoebe wore her sexiest, silky lingerie under her ultra body hugging, red lycra dress, checked her reflection in the mirror and said, "look out, Alan, cause what you see is what you're about to get...and what you're about to get is a whole lotta Phoebe."  
  
Phoebe giggled like a nervous school girl and felt like a born again virgin, yet again. She hoped she'd be everything he fantasized about and then she wondered just how long it'd been since she'd actually felt this excited over the prospect of making love. "No, don't answer, that one Phoebe, you don't want to go there. I'm divorced now and he was just a phase. Alan is my destiny."  
  
Phoebe heard a knock on the door, picked up her luggage and saw her cute, blonde-haired boyfriend, looking up at her on the stairs with an adorable grin. He reminded her of Michael J. Fox. The perfect guy to bring home to mom, so politically correct and so very nice, in fact, everything about Alan was nice. She never dreamed she'd be given a second chance at happiness and counted herself a very lucky girl.  
  
Alan played the gentleman, grabbing her heavy suitcase from her hand, without once wisecracking about how she'd overpacked. He then reached up, kissed her on the top of her head, and strolled with her to the door.  
  
"Wait just a sec, Alan, there's somethin' I gotta go do," Phoebe said and ran to the attic where she knew she'd find Paige researching her newest potion in the "Book of Shadows."  
  
"Phoebe," Paige gasped, startled by the hand that removed the book from her greedy grasp. "Wow, you look great. Gotta hot date with anyone I know?" she smiled knowingly.  
  
Phoebe launched herself into Paige's arms, kissed her cheek and said, "I'll never be able to repay you for Alan."  
  
"You can just give me your first born, but you'll have to check him for horns first," she joked.  
  
Something sad passed through Phoebe's eyes for a moment, the joke not so funny, and a little too fresh in her heart to be laughed over.  
  
"I'm sorry, Phoebe, that was stupid. I didn't mean to bring up your...Can you forgive your thoughtless sister?" Paige pleaded.  
  
Phoebe's face returned to normal, the sparkle was back and she smiled. Even if the smile didn't quite reach her eyes, the effort was made to let Paige know she'd moved on. "Of course I know you were only joking, Paige. That part of my life is, well it's almost like it happened to someone else, not me. I never think of it at all."  
  
That much was true. Phoebe never did think of either Cole or their baby. She pushed their images down into the abyss of denial and covered the gaping whole over so thoroughly that she consciously never even saw that the void was there.  
  
"Alan's waiting downstairs, but I just wanted to say thank you, Paige. He's been a real gift to me. I feel like I'm starting over and it's all because of you," Phoebe smiled and trotted down the stairs.  
  
"Your welcome," Paige answered after she'd gone. "I just hope you can appreciate him."  
  
Paige recalled the day she'd met Alan five weeks ago. Paige had decided to go back to being a social worker and went down to her former office to beg her boss for her old job, not because the demon killing business was any slower, but because she really missed having a cool wardrobe and wasn't used to borrowing money from anyone, especially her sisters.  
  
It seemed it was her lucky day. Not only was her boss looking to expand the department after receiving his increased budget, but he was just about to call Paige and dangle the carrot, offering her old position with a substantial raise. He'd missed Paige, more than he cared to admit, and felt that his clients would benefit from her own unique brand of magic.  
  
Paige could not believe her good fortune and almost wondered whether there was a spell involved. She soon forgot that idea when she tore her favorite skirt as she kneeled down to pick up a folder that dropped off the desk she'd just passed.  
  
"Darn, my favorite skirt. Mental note to self: Lay off Piper's muffins."  
  
She heard an amused chuckle behind a tall stack of folders, removed a handful of the ones that blocked her view, and met Alan, a really nice, clean-cut, guy who was small but yummy. Of course, she didn't go for the Preppy, Bostonian type and he appeared a little too normal for her taste, but like a good sister, she immediately thought of Phoebe.  
  
Two days later, after heavy persuasion and blackmail tactics were employed, Phoebe agreed to meet Alan for drinks and the rest was history. Phoebe had finally met a nice guy she liked and could tolerate for more than five minutes. Paige patted herself on the back for a job well done and now, five weeks later, she fervently hoped that this weekend would be the clincher and that her sister would fall in love and forget that Cole ever existed.  
  
Admittedly, Paige couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Cole, despite the horrible way he went about trying to kill himself, Paige saw the pain in his eyes when he looked at Phoebe, and seemed to silently pray for some sign that she still loved him, but she had only rejected him yet again. Of course that kind of love was not only unhealthy, and obsessive, but it was criminal too. Phoebe was better off without all the pain she'd caused him and it was her pain that mattered, not his. He'd chosen to become the Source of all evil for God's sake and when that didn't work out, he'd become someone even more powerful than that, someone they could no longer vanquish. Paige shuddered at the thought of all the evil thoughts that were probably percolating in his brain right now. Once a demon, always a demon. Even if Balthazor was gone, Cole was not capable of ever caring about anyone other than his x-wife or himself.  
  
****************************************************  
  
Over the next few weeks, Cole ignored his mother's warning to stay away from Jimmie, not only because he still took great pleasure in denying her what she coveted, but because he was growing more protective over the boy. Cole could feel the goodness in him growing ever since the first day Darryl extended him an olive branch and instead of batting down the weakness, as he'd always been trained to do, Cole embraced it for the first time since he'd lost Phoebe and allowed the warm feelings to thaw the frost that'd been clouding his judgment of late.  
  
He and Jimmie now saw each other every day, mostly spending time in the gym, in the video arcade, or stuffing their faces in fast food restaurants.  
  
Cole tried to figure out why his mother hadn't approached Jimmie since she'd visited Cole and soon got his answer when the first of a series of bounty hunters attacked them in the bathroom at McDonald's. 


	6. Cole's Choice

Thanks Beba Turner-Halliwell, dbejo, and my favorite reviewer, [[[[[[[[[Nieves]]]]]]] for your lovely comments.  
  
****************************************  
  
Cole was working on finishing his first cheeseburger when his internal radar flashed red. Jimmie was taking too long in the bathroom and something was wrong.  
  
Checking to make sure that no customers or help were looking his way, Cole shimmered into the bathroom just in time to encounter a snarling bounty hunter who reminded him of the demon who nearly killed him when he was confessing his love for Phoebe for the first time. In fact, it was him, he was sure.  
  
Jimmie was struggling wildly to break free of his grasp, but couldn't. Anger flared in his young eyes, and unbeknownst to him, a small energy ball was forming in the palm of his right hand and glowing ever more red.  
  
Cole yelled out, "throw it, Jimmie, before it explodes."  
  
Jimmie looked at the energy in his hands, his face registering the shock of what he was seeing, and for a second he froze. Then the force of Cole's warning penetrated his stunned mind. This was a voice he'd grown to trust lately and it was telling him to get rid of the thing in his hand. Jimmie felt the evil inside the man holding him prisoner and threw the ball into his gut before the demon could react.  
  
The force of it was not large enough to vanquish him, but it threw him against the wall and temporarily knocked the stuffing out of him.  
  
"Get out of here and wait for me in the car, Jimmie," Cole ordered.  
  
"But..." Jimmie stammered, making no sense out of what he'd just done. Though he was afraid, he held his ground defiantly and was not about to abandon his only friend.  
  
"It's okay. I'm gonna help you. Just do what I say and trust me....Go, Now!" Cole yelled when he saw that gentle words were not getting the job done.  
  
Jimmie looked into Cole's eyes, trusted what was in them and ran, as he was told.  
  
The bounty hunter was now coming around. Cole lifted him up by the scruff of the collar, made an energy ball that looked as powerful as a nuclear bomb and threatened him with it.  
  
"How did you get here? I vanquished you over three years ago?" Cole asked in a threatening tone that matched the firepower in his hand.  
  
"You won the battle, Balthazor, but you didn't win the war," the bounty hunter replied in his deep, menacing, demon voice.  
  
"Balthazor's gone where you ought to be," Cole said. "Now answer my question. How did you get here and why did my mother hire you?"  
  
The demon looked at the glowing ball in Cole's hand and thought it wise to comply. "Your mother and I made what you call a great escape, even greater than the one you pulled off in the Wasteland. She was vanquished by a touchy witch who didn't much care for the way your mother seduced her husband in order to get a book that she had which contained spells as great as the ones in your witches' "book of shadows." She thought after the witch's husband had gotten her the book that she could easily defeat the witch, but she was wrong. The witch had memorized a spell from the book and had vanquished your mother before she got the chance to defeat the witch herself."  
  
"Your mother went to the wasteland, but she wasn't alone. She still had the book in her possession and there was a powerful spell in it she could use to get herself out, only she wasn't strong enough to do it alone. That's where I came in. You'd just vanquished me, I was about to be consumed by the beast, but your mother rescued me and together we said the spell that secured our freedom."  
  
The demon began to fade, taking on a shadowy form as he continued on with the story.  
  
"What's happening to you? Cole asked as he lost his grip on the bounty hunter who was no longer solid. Cole extinguished the fireball in his hand and waved his now empty hand right through the filmy form of the demon. "Why aren't you solid?"  
  
"I'm getting to that," the bounty hunter, continued, his gravelly voice becoming weaker. "The spell worked, your mother and I gained our freedom but we lost our strength."  
  
"That's why, she didn't come to me when I was the Source," Cole said more to himself than to the demon.  
  
"We needed time to regenerate and even now we still don't have the energy to maintain our solid forms for long."  
  
"Why are you telling me all of this?" Cole asked, with growing suspicion.  
  
"Because we need your help. The boy's help would have been enough, but as you can see, he's resistant. Your mother needs his blood to fully regenerate her strength."  
  
"She said she wanted to turn him, not kill him," Cole said with anger.  
  
"That was her goal initially until you came along and infected him with your humanity. Before you'd met him, he could have gone either way, but now you've tipped the scales, shown him compassion, and he's no longer any good to us as a future Source. We'll never be able to trust him now. No, the only thing he's good for, is his blood. His death will mean your mother's life."  
  
"And what makes you think I would choose her over Jimmie?"  
  
"That's simple, almost too easy, Balthazor. If you don't help us kill Jimmie, your witch will die."  
  
"Phoebe's got nothing to do with this. She's out of my life, we're divorced and I could care less what my mother does to her now," Cole lied.  
  
"Your mother predicted you'd say that. Her reply was, "good, then her death will mean nothing to you, but will give her a great deal of pleasure."  
  
The demon's shadow was becoming even more filmy as his voice grew fainter.  
  
"Wait a minute, if you have enough strength to kill Phoebe, then why aren't you killing Jimmie yourself? Why didn't you just do it now?" Cole logically asked.  
  
"I only held the boy waiting for you, Balthazor to come to me. You're going to kill Jimmie for us."  
  
"Why do you need me to do it?" Cole asked, weighing all the possibilities in his mind and suspecting the one answer that made sense.  
  
"Because while there's no use for Jimmie, your mother thinks there might still possibly be a chance for you. Kill Jimmie and you'll become more powerful than any Source in the Underworld has ever been and you can finally take your rightful place by your mother's side. Think it over, Balthazor. You have twenty-four hours before your precious witch dies," the demon said and shimmered, what was left of him, away.  
  
Cole walked to the car and though he was relieved to find Jimmie waiting for him inside, Cole knew he had a life altering decision to make. Whose life will he chose to protect, his brother's or Phoebe's? 


	7. A Mother's Plan Revealed

Thanks, Meow. Beba, thanks for the continued support. Nieves, it's Tracey. Nice to meet ya! lol  
  
*****************************  
  
It was an unseasonably cold, spring night, in the quaint, nineteenth century, bed and breakfast house Alan rented. Phoebe and Alan sat on the couch in front of the fireplace, sipping Merlot. The conversation between them was heated with the promise of what was to come, with Phoebe in particular, anxious to move things along at a more exciting pace.  
  
Phoebe set down her glass, suggestively smiled into Alan's brown eyes, and Alan received the message and made his move. The kiss, though awkward at first, as foreplay can sometimes be, grew into something more promising in Phoebe's mind, and ended in the bedroom under very cold sheets.  
  
Phoebe attacked Alan with all the passion and gusto she had always possessed. It'd been a long time since she could find a release for all that pent up sexual energy she'd been building and she planned on making the most of it.  
  
For Alan's part, he kept up as best he could and allowed Phoebe to take the lead where she liked. An hour later, Alan leaned back on the pillow completely satiated with a look of pure contentment etched on his adorable features and drifted off. Phoebe stared at Alan's, curled up sleeping form and felt...absolutely nothing.  
  
She closed her eyes, trying to shake the disappointment, but it was no use, as the tears began to fall. "I expected way too much here," she thought. "Come on, snap out of it, Phoebe. There was just no way that anyone was gonna match the fantasy I created in my head. Absolutely no one could, except...No, don't think it, she admonished, and covered her ears in a futile attempt to block out the name screaming in her mind. Don't say it. I'm warning you, if you do....Cole! Oh geez, I said it, out loud," Phoebe realized and bolted out of bed in a state of panic. She looked over at Alan, and to her relief, he hadn't stirred. Actually, Cole's name came out more a whisper, then a shout, but nevertheless, it rang loudly in her head.  
  
She was so used to her mind shutting down all thoughts and feelings about him, so why was she slipping now? She gathered up one of the blankets, wrapping it around her and slipped out of the bedroom and into the living- room almost walking smack into...  
  
"What are you doing here?" she screamed.  
  
************************************************************  
  
Cole's mother, Phaedra, knelt before a demon in a hooded robe. She was in a sealed room in what looked like a gothic hospital, hidden in the bowels of the Underworld. Around fifty soldiers in all states of health; some only slightly weakened, while others lay in beds hooked up to life support systems, had suffered the same fate as Phaedra; they'd been vanquished and regenerated by the same spell she used to save herself.  
  
The Source, sat on a throne he'd created with his powers, but he was too weak to shimmer from the room. It was only in this underworld hospital, that he could survive and wait for the day that Phaedra would make good on her promise to save him.  
  
Phaedra was barely able to leave the room herself, nearly depleting her flagging energy by the few trips she'd made to visit Jimmie and Cole. Now she'd have to trust the bounty hunter to complete her mission and hope that Cole would not get in the way of it. "Cole." Everytime she uttered his name, something fluttered within which she preferred not to acknowledge. He was her Achilles heal, and her only true son in her mind. Jimmie was as she described to Cole earlier, an experiment that had gone wrong while Cole was everything she'd ever hoped her son would be: handsome, clever and unpredictable. Yes, she was angry at his defiance, and ashamed of his weakness for the witch, but then she too had shown weakness in the beginning for his father.  
  
When the seer had led her to Cole's father, her nerve endings tingled with the knowledge that he was the one to bring her what she'd always dreamed of, a son of incredible power. For an innocent, he was exciting, and gratified her lust longer than any demon ever had before.  
  
When the feelings became too sentimental, soon after Cole was born, alarm bells sounded and Phaedra came to her senses. If she allowed things to progress the way they had been, she was in danger of falling in love, and ruining all her best laid plans for her and Cole's future. These thoughts filled her with self loathing and disgust. Such a weakness was unacceptable for any demon and so Phaedra left Cole and his father and went in search of an alchemist for help.  
  
Six years later, she returned, a different woman, who was not only cleansed by the alchemist's work but she'd added the reinforcement of a dark spell placed on her by the future Source of all Evil, an ambitious demon she'd been sleeping with for some time. Phaedra was drawn to his lust for power which matched her own and knew instinctively that one day her son would have to defeat him to gain his thrown.  
  
One of Phaedra's powers was her intuition. She was always planning ahead and reasoned it would be a good idea for her to learn this particular demon's weaknesses now so her son could later defeat him in years to come.  
  
When Phaedra returned to take her son from his father, she was no longer the woman they both knew. The spell made them both strangers to her heart and she murdered Cole's father with no more care than one had when squashing a bug under their heel.  
  
She now looked up at the deformed half face of the former Source, whose rise to the throne had left him scarred, and reminded her of the power he enjoyed and all that she'd been denied. Phaedra recalled the incidents of the past as if they had happened to someone else. She didn't actually regret removing Cole's father from his life, but she was sorry for the permanent damage it inflicted on her son. If she'd just let him live that day and found a way to turn Cole from his father, things would have been very different, and she and her son could have ruled the Underworld together.  
  
As it was now, Phaedra was hanging on by a thread, making promises to the former Source that she had no intention of keeping in order to save her life. Though the former Source was weak, some of his soldiers were stronger than her and under his command, he threatened to vanquish Phaedra. It was because of Cole, her son, that he had been vanquished in the first place and was now barely holding on by a thread. Phaedra, known for her ability to think quickly on her feet, devised a plan that would restore the Source to his throne and also save her life.  
  
"Phaedra, I'm waiting for your update on the bounty hunter's progress," the former Source demanded.  
  
"Cole has been given the choice of his brother's life or the witch's," she reported.  
  
"Good. He will of course choose the witch's life, he will destroy the clone, his demon powers will instantly expand and he will become the greatest force of evil that the Underworld has ever seen."  
  
"You mean the most powerful puppet, you've ever commanded, my liege," Phaedra corrected.  
  
"Yes, of course. Have you prepared the potion from your book of spells?"  
  
"Yes, I have. After Cole vanquishes Jimmie, we will summon him here and this potion made with your flesh will bend him to your will, my Liege." Or, at least that's what Phaedra cleverly led him to believe. In truth, it was Phaedra's flesh that was mixed into the potion and it would be her pulling the strings. Finally she was within twenty-four hours of her dream to rule the Underworld with her son taking the orders at her side." 


	8. Cole Seeks Help

Evil Angel, I'm glad you appreciate the fast updates. The reason I'm churning this out so fast is to get the story out of me before my husband gets home from his job at sea. When he's home it'll be much harder to find the time to write.  
  
[[[[[[[[[[Nieves]]]]]]]]]]] I look forward to your next e-mail.  
  
***************************************************  
  
"Darryl, how did you find me here and couldn't you have at least knocked?" Phoebe screamed, securing the blanket around her tighter. "You nearly scared me to death."  
  
"That's what I was afraid of, your death. Cole..."  
  
"Oh, I should have guessed that he'd somehow play into this. What I can't figure out is how he could have gotten you involved in his stalking."  
  
"He's not stalking you, Phoebe. He's trying to save your life."  
  
Alan heard the noise in the living-room and ran out carrying a broom in his hand as his weapon.  
  
Phoebe saw him and burst out laughing.  
  
"What's so funny? Do you know this guy?" Alan asked waving the broom at Darryl.  
  
"Yes, Darryl's a friend," Phoebe answered still chuckling.  
  
"I thought he was a prowler."  
  
"Oh yeah? And you were just going to sweep him under the carpet were you?" Phoebe teased.  
  
If the situation weren't so serious, Darryl would have laughed too. With that broom, Alan looked about as menacing as one of the chimney sweeps from "Mary Poppins."  
  
"Yeah well, I didn't have a bat," Alan stammered.  
  
"Okay, it's sweat, really. But, honestly I don't need protecting. Alan. I'm pretty good at taking care of myself, all by myself."  
  
"Not this time," Darryl said. "I need you to get dressed right away. I'm taking you back to the manor."  
  
"Who is this guy? Is he that whacked out X you were telling me about, Carl?"  
  
"Cole," Phoebe and Darryl replied in unison.  
  
"And he isn't whacked out, "Darryl said in Cole's defense, "at least not anymore. I'll explain it all at the manor. But we gotta leave now."  
  
"Darryl, I..."  
  
"Do you trust me Phoebe? Never mind Cole. I'm asking you if you trust me?"  
  
"Of course I do, but I'm just not so sure that you're yourself now. For you to be defending Cole this way, makes me think he's put you under a spell."  
  
"A spell?" Alan asked leaning against his broom. What is he a witch?" he joked.  
  
"That would be a warlock," Phoebe replied. Aaah women are witches, men are..."  
  
Alan was giving Phoebe a strange look.  
  
"Did I say spell? I didn't mean spell, I meant to say...Phoebe looked to Darryl for help. Darryl shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to help her out of this one. "Spellbound. Yes, that's what I meant to say. Cole's just so slick, a real word jockey. He can make anyone spellbound with his... powers of persuasion. I just don't want to see Darryl sucked in the way I once was."  
  
"Oh. This Cole sure sounds like one greasy lawyer. I'm glad he's out of your life."  
  
"Me too," Phoebe agreed , though to Darryl it almost sounded like she doth protest too much.  
  
"Look can we just all go now?" Darryl pleaded. "Whatever you may believe, Phoebe, the truth is, I'm not spellbound, bewitched or bewarlocked by Cole or anyone else and I'll explain it all to you when you're tucked away safe and sound in the manor with the power of...your sister's love," to protect you."  
  
"Alan why don't you go inside and start packing. I'd like a word with Darryl for just a sec, if you don't mind and I'll be right in."  
  
"Come on Phoebe, tell me you're not letting your X's friend here, spoil our weekend?" Alan could not believe this was happening. He'd spent a good part of a week making the arrangements for this getaway and he wasn't about to let anyone spoil things so easily.  
  
"Cole is not spoiling anything between us, " Phoebe said looking directly at Darryl. I'm leaving because Darryl's asking me to, not Cole and I know that Darryl would never barge in like this if he didn't have a very good reason."  
  
"Thank you, Phoebe." Darryl said, touched.  
  
"Fine, I'll start packing," Alan replied and walked back into the bedroom.  
  
"He's..."  
  
"What, Darryl? Not Cole? You're darn right he's not. In fact he's everything Cole isn't and that's why I...like him....so very much. Phoebe couldn't manage the words she wished she felt and hated herself for it. "What's really going on here, Darryl?"  
  
"Honestly I don't know all of it, but what I do know, is that you're in danger."  
  
"Because of Cole? What else is new," Phoebe sighed.  
  
"Not Cole, his mother." Darryl replied.  
  
"But his mother's dead."  
  
"Not from what I've seen."  
  
"Then he lied...again. Why am I not surprised," Phoebe shot back, the cynicism oozing from her pores.  
  
"Phoebe, I know you have a lot to be angry about, but I also think there's a lot you don't know. I wish I had time to tell you all I know but..."  
  
"I know, the evil demon from hell's mother is out to destroy me. Okay, I'll go with you back to the manor and my sisters and I will find a way to vanquish her sorry ass the same way we vanquished her son's."  
  
"Not so fast," came a voice, familiar and yet unrecognizable. It echoed off the walls and sent a chill down Phoebe's spine. The voice belonged to Alan.  
  
****************************************************  
  
In the car, Cole felt only slightly relieved after talking to Darryl, on his cell phone. Darryl assured him he would protect Phoebe's life with his own and though Cole believed him, it was hard relinquishing control. If Phoebe's life was in danger, he was the one who wanted to be there to protect her, but he knew that it would be difficult if not impossible to do that given Phoebe's anger toward him and the close eye his mother was keeping on him through her minions. Besides he had a brother to guard, and that was becoming a full time job.  
  
On the way to the Halliwell manor, no less than three bounty hunters orbed into the backseat of their car to make sure that Cole was with Jimmie and not out saving Phoebe's butt.  
  
Jimmie felt like he was in some surreal world, completely foreign to him. Cole was his only lifeline and kept him sane. Every time he recalled forming the energy ball in his hand, Jimmie shuddered. "What am I?" he asked Cole.  
  
"You're like me. Exactly like me," Cole replied," as he gunned the gas. Cole considered calling Piper and Paige to explain things and let them know he was on his way with his brother, but he feared they would suspect the worst from him and devise a shield to keep them out when more than ever he needed their help. That's why he thought it best to opt for the element of surprise.  
  
"You can make fire in your hands?" Jimmie asked incredulously.  
  
"Among other things, yes. But the one thing I can't do is protect you alone. And I'm no longer too proud to ask for help."  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"To see some frie...witches I know who with any luck, won't vanquish me first before they ask questions."  
  
"Why would they want to vanquish you?" Jimmie asked.  
  
"Because I'm a half demon, Jimmie...or I used to be."  
  
"You're evil?"  
  
"What do you think?" Cole asked really wanting to know the answer.  
  
"I think I don't understand any of this, but the one thing I know is that I trust you...so you can't be evil," Jimmie replied with the honesty of youth.  
  
"Then I'm not, and neither are you, no matter what anyone tries to make you believe."  
  
"Sometimes I do feel evil," Jimmie confessed. I've had thoughts that were pretty bad."  
  
"But you haven't acted on them, have you?"  
  
"No, but I've come close," Jimmie said looking away.  
  
"Well I have and if I can find redemption, you can too. You just need someone to guide you in the right direction, to keep you in touch with your better half. This isn't going to be easy for you to hear, but you have to know the truth, Jimmie. You and I have the same mother and father. Your dad, was a good man with a pure soul who would have protected you with his life the way he gave his up for me. But your mom is another story. She's pure evil, spawn from a demon seed. With her, there's no hope for happiness or love."  
  
"Why are you telling me this?"  
  
"Because you need to know what you're up against. Your mother is coming for you, Jimmie. She's tried to do it through me, but I haven't let her, I won't. When she sees that I've failed, she'll want to kill you herself so that she can live. She'll say anything, do anything, to get you to come with her but you mustn't go with her or anyone who claims to know her other than me, or the two witches you're about to meet.  
  
"What about your friend, Darryl?"  
  
"He's fine too but we're not going to see him or Phoebe. They'll be coming to the manor, but we'll have already gone."  
  
Cole parked the car and took Jimmie's hand. "Close your eyes, Jimmie, concentrate and try to shimmer us inside."  
  
"I can't."  
  
"You can, our mother said you did it before."  
  
"I think I did, but I don't know how I did it."  
  
"Just focus all your energy and think hard about taking us inside."  
  
Jimmy clamped his eyes shut, directed all his energy into his mind, and shimmered them inside the Halliwell's attic where Piper, Leo and Phoebe were congregated around the "book of shadows" with worried expressions on their faces.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?" Piper flared.  
  
"More like, what is he doing with that innocent?" Page added. We may not have a potion to vanquish you anymore, but we could manage to torture him for a while couldn't we Piper?"  
  
"We sure could," Piper agreed, raising her hands in exploding mode.  
  
"Don't. You might hurt Jimmie, and kill me. I don't think I'm invincible anymore."  
  
"All the more reason," Piper said and raised her hands once more.  
  
"No, wait, Piper," Leo said. Let's hear him out. The elders are in a fuss up there and won't say why. Maybe Cole could shed some light on what's going on.  
  
"Well," Piper said. "We're waiting. You have five minutes to explain why you're here."  
  
"I want you to remove Jimmie's powers," Cole said. 


	9. The Girls Make a Decision

Okay, I have until Wednesday to wrap this up before hubby sails home. Let's see if I can do it. If not, I'll just keep writing but it won't be at this same pace.  
  
Thanks Michelle, svata, princess & bblueberry for your kind comments. Thanks Irena for keeping me on my toes. I really do appreciate your thoughts. [[[[[[[[Nieves]]]]]]]]] Bubbles, not tonight but somewhere in this story, for you, I'll have Cole wearing black and at another time, shirtless! lol He is a handsome devil, pun intended, I agree.  
  
********************************************  
  
The former Source leaned weekly on his staff in his hospital room while a demon worked feverishly beside him, mixing up a potion.  
  
"How soon will it be ready, Jockomo? the Source asked.  
  
"These things take time."  
  
"I don't have time. Phaedra's not back yet. That means her plan has failed and the clone still lives."  
  
"The twenty-four hours is not yet up, my Liege and Phaedra is a resourceful woman. In the end, she will prevail."  
  
"Yes, I believe she will, but do you really think I'd trust her to keep her word? She's made no secret of her lust for power. If Balthazor destroys the clone and becomes all powerful, why would she want to make him my puppet instead of her own?"  
  
"Because she is your wife, my Liege, and your Queen."  
  
"Was my wife, Jockomo. I married her in a moment of weakness long ago and helped her raise her son. She was beautiful and beguiling and I thought her to be an asset to me, but I was wrong. All the while, she studied my weaknesses, plotted against me, and built an army of her own to defeat me so she could put her son on the throne. When I learned of her betrayal, I tried to vanquish her, but I couldn't. Phaedra is my Achilles heel, just as Balthazor is hers."  
  
"But you still don't trust her."  
  
"No, but I do still like to keep her around for my own amusement. I may have pretended to go along with her lies, but I do not intend for her to win. You will make a clone from my DNA, I will destroy it and use it's blood to regenerate me and when Balthazor comes, I will have a potion of my own ready to destroy him. If he doesn't come, I will go after him and the charmed ones and destroy them all."  
  
"But how? If Balthazor shows up here with his invincible powers, how will you vanquish him?"  
  
"That will be your doing, Jockomo. If you can speed up the growth of my clone fetus within hours to reach maturity as you promised, then surely you could use the same formula to speed up Balthazor's hormones so that he will age and crumble before our eyes."  
  
"Yes, I suppose I could," Jockomo replied.  
  
"Then get to work. We haven't long before the showdown begins," the Source said with a grin that looked more like a sneer.  
  
****************************************************  
  
"I don't believe this, Alan. You can't be a demon," Phoebe shouted as Alan took a menacing step forward.  
  
"Don't you ever fall for any nice guys, Phoebe?" Darryl quipped, drawing his gun.  
  
Alan waved his arm, easily dislodging Darryl's gun from his hand, causing it to fly into the air. Alan then threw fire at it and exploded it mid-air.  
  
"Wait a minute. What kind of demon are you?" Phoebe asked. Only upper level ones can throw fire.  
  
"Pardon me for my lack of manners, witch." The voice coming out of Alan's mouth was feminine and eerily disturbing. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Phaedra, Cole's mother."  
  
"Funny, you look more like you should be his father," Phoebe shot back; her humor always on display when she was nervous.  
  
"I'd let you see my true form dearie, but I'm afraid I haven't quite got the energy for it just now. Through your disgustingly skinny boyfriend here, I have all the energy I need to kill you and Cole's cute, human friend. Nice to see you again, by the way. Darryl isn't it?"  
  
"Yeah, nice of you to remember," Darryl deadpanned.  
  
"I always remember all of Cole's pets."  
  
"What are you going to do to Alan's body?" Phoebe asked.  
  
"You should be more concerned with what I'm going to do to your own. It won't be pleasant, my dear, but then it is no less than what you deserve for ruining Cole's life and all the plans I had for him."  
  
"You were the one who ruined him, not me. If you'd let him be raised by his dad, he could have had a chance for a happy life. He deserved that."  
  
"Why, little Phoebe, it almost sounds like you still care. Won't Alan here be upset when he finds out you're still in love with your ex? Personally, I don't think this one's man enough for any real woman, but then again, what kind of real woman would throw away my son?"  
  
"Why, Phaedra, it almost sounds like you love Cole. Watch out, you may get your horns clipped for that."  
  
"Love is highly overrated, my dear. I prefer power, especially in my weakened condition. "Veritas...  
  
"What are you doing?" Phoebe asked.  
  
"I'm sucking the power out of you and into me, my dear...  
  
***************************************************  
  
"Okay, let me see if I have this straight. Jimmie here is your clone, you want us to strip him of his powers so your dead mother can't find him, and you want us to help you defeat her in order to save your ass. Does that about sum up the situation here Cole?" Piper asked.  
  
"No," Cole replied. "I don't need you to save my ass. The only time I ever did ask for help, you and Phoebe basically told me where to go. I'm here to beg for my brother's life. He deserves a chance to have what I never got and if you deny him that, you're no better than the demons you fight against.  
  
"Hey, wait a minute. What do you mean strip my powers?" Jimmie asked.  
  
"Oh pardon us if we don't exactly believe your motives are coming from a good place, Cole, or should I say former Source of all evil." Paige was still smarting from the stunt Cole recently pulled on them before he'd tried to kill himself.  
  
"Leo, can't you talk to them?" Cole asked. "Not for my sake, but for the boy's. If they don't help, my mother won't stop till she wins and we're all destroyed."  
  
"You haven't exactly won me over yet either, Cole. That arrow you had your darklighter shoot into me still aches on rainy nights. And, how do we know Jimmie here's not part of some twisted plan you have just to get Phoebe's attention?"  
  
"Look, I still love Phoebe. I always will," Cole admitted, "but this time it isn't about her. It's about an innocent whose life's in danger. If Phoebe were here right now she'd tell you that we have to save him."  
  
"But Phoebe's not here Cole," Paige said. "She happens to be off at a cabin for the weekend with a guy she really cares about, someone nice whose never stabbed innocent victims with an Athame or turned a girl evil. She's happy and protected and..."  
  
"In danger," Cole said as he doubled over in pain. "It's Phoebe, she's in trouble. Leo you have to go to her, now."  
  
"What are you talking about? I don't sense...wait a minute. You're right," Leo said and quickly orbed out.  
  
Jimmie saw that Cole was about ready to collapse and sat him down in a chair. Cole's eyes were clamped tight and his breathing was labored.  
  
Jimmie saw a blanket on the floor and wrapped it around him. "Don't die. Please, don't die Cole. You're all I have." Tears welled up in the boy, the raw emotion, etched on his troubled face. Jimmie's love for Cole was not lost on either of the girls.  
  
Cole placed a hand on Jimmie's head, opened his eyes and sat up.  
  
"It's okay, Jimmie. I'm okay. No one's hurting me, it's our mother. She's the one doing the hurting and she's going to pay for it, not us." Cole did a rare thing, he'd seldom done with anyone but Phoebe. He hugged Jimmie filling him with all the reassurance he could.  
  
It wasn't like Cole to openly display his feelings and in that moment, Piper decided something that she prayed she wouldn't regret.  
  
"Are you sure you want to strip his powers? We could just bind them you know," Piper suggested.  
  
"Now wait a minute, you're not buying into this act are you Piper?" Page asked.  
  
"It isn't an act Paige. Even Cole's not this good an actor," Piper answered.  
  
"Yeah right. What about all those months he had us fooled into believing he was just plain old Cole when he was really the Source?"  
  
"I know, but call it my witchy sixth sense. I don't think he's fooling us now. And besides, just look at Jimmie. Does it look like he's acting to you? Come on Paige, you're the perceptive one here. What's your radar telling you now?" Piper asked.  
  
Paige looked over at Cole and Jimmie huddled together and replied, "all right, I'll start on the potion. But which one is it going to be, the power stripping or binding potion?"  
  
"I don't want to lose my powers, Cole. I only just got them," Jimmy said. Like any teenager with a new toy, Jimmie wanted to at least have the chance of using his powers before he had to give them away.  
  
"I know, Jimmie, but it's the only way to keep you off my mother's radar and out of danger. If we bind your powers, you might only be tempted to get them back at a later date and that would just be too tempting for you. If you're to have a chance for any kind of life at all, you can't use your powers or you'd be in danger of becoming something you'd never have the chance to get out from under. Trust me on this, good is better." 


	10. Time is Running Out

Evil Angel, Beba Turner-Halliwell, bblueberry, thanks for your notes of encouragement.  
  
Nieves & Bubbles for you two, the shirt's coming off not tonight but in the next chapter.  
  
*********************************************  
  
Phoebe's face fell into a trance as Phaedra recited her spell that was slowly and painfully draining the blood and energy out of her. This would not permanently regenerate Phaedra--only the blood of a relative could do that--but it would be a temporary fix, not to mention a pleasure to see this troublesome witch die.  
  
Darryl screamed, "no" and raced forward to tackle Phaedra but she was too quick for him. With a wave of her arm she sent Darryl hurtling back against the wall where he hit his head and crumbled to the ground unconscious.  
  
"Cole's pets can be so irritating at times," she muttered and got back to her incantation.  
  
When she was three quarters through and could feel Phoebe's life force flowing through her, Leo orbed in, immediately assessed the situation and took the hand of his charge whose face was ghostly white, and was about to orb her to safety, but found he didn't need to.  
  
Phaedra stopped her chant, looked up at the ceiling seeing something in her mind that no one else could and slipped out of Alan's body, sending it to the floor in a heap, and urgently shimmered away.  
  
Leo caught Phoebe as she was falling and carried her to the couch, felt for her pulse, which was thready, and then went to check on Alan and Darryl's conditions. Darryl was the worst of the three, with blood pooling around his mouth, at the brink of death. Leo began the healing with him.  
  
****************************************************  
  
Jimmie and Piper were alone in the attic while Cole went downstairs to check on Paige's progress with the power stripping potion. Jimmie asked Piper why she and her sister hated Cole so much.  
  
"I can see that you love Cole and that he's obviously been your protector and has been a good big brother to you, but there's a lot you don't know about him, thing's he's done in his past that has made it kinda hard for us to forgive," Piper explained.  
  
"He told me he's done some really bad things but he's not like that anymore. All he's tried to do is help me and I think that he needs some help too. When he talks about your sister, Phoebe, he gets this look in his eye, like his dog ran away or something and he tries to act like it doesn't bother him, but I know it hurts. I know because I felt the same way when my first foster parents gave me up. They said they loved me but they couldn't deal with me. They didn't even hug me goodbye. They just dropped me off at social services and drove away and just like that, I didn't have parents anymore. Every time I go to a new home, I pretend like I don't care, but it still hurts, ya know? Maybe you don't know. Maybe you never got left behind, but Cole does know. He gets me like no one ever has before and I get him too, but it doesn't seem like you or your sister understand him at all."  
  
"We tried, Jimmy. For over two years, we tried to get your brother but in the end he became something evil and he hurt our sister more than she could stand to be hurt which makes me think that your brother really doesn't care about us very much at all. If he did, he wouldn't have gone back to evil or become the Source."  
  
"You're wrong Piper. He does care. He knew you hated him but he came here anyway because he said he wasn't too proud to ask for help. That means he trusts you and for that you should at least try and give him another chance," Jimmie pleaded.  
  
"You know what, Jimmy? You'd make a great attorney, like your brother. You sure know how to plead a case. Well, I still don't trust Cole, but in a way I am sort of giving him a chance by helping you so let's just take it one step at a time and see how it goes. And for what it's worth, I do know how you feel. I got left behind too most recently by my big sister, and it still hurts."  
  
Piper smoothed the curly hair on Jimmie's head and couldn't help but see the resemblance he bore to Cole in those deep set eyes. It made her think about what Cole must have gone through with a cold demon for a mother and for just a moment, her heart softened for Cole.  
  
"Every kid deserves the chance to live a good life. We're all gonna see you get that chance, Jimmie."  
  
****************************************************  
  
In the kitchen, Cole paced and asked Paige how the potion was coming along for the seventeenth time.  
  
"It's finished. Want to do me a favor and just pour this stuff into that vile?" Paige asked.  
  
Cole picked up the empty vile which shook in his hand and dropped it, smashing it into a million pieces.  
  
"Step back, Paige. Are you all right?" Cole asked.  
  
"I'm fine, but what's with you? I've never seen you nervous like that before Cole. You must really be scared."  
  
"I am. My mother's close, I can feel it and if we don't act fast and get Jimmie out of here in a hurry, she's going to kill him. I know you don't want to hear this, but I'm also pretty worried about Phoebe too. You've never seen my mother angry. It isn't a pretty sight and she blames Phoebe for ruining me."  
  
"Cole, I still don't like the thought of you anywhere near my sister, but in some ways I think I may have been slightly wrong about you. The way you care about Jimmie proves that you're not completely selfish and well, I don't know, maybe there's just some small amount of hope for you yet...very small, like infinitesimal, but some."  
  
"Well don't go getting all sentimental on me here Paige. I wouldn't want for us to start liking each other," Cole wisecracked.  
  
"Don't worry. There's still no chance of that happening," Paige replied, believing there really was no chance of them ever becoming friends. Some things just couldn't be swept under the rug, like him becoming the Source.  
  
Paige removed another empty vile from the cabinet, filled it with the potion, headed to the stairs and stopped. "Aren't you coming, Cole?"  
  
"No you go on ahead. I'll be up in a little bit. I'm gonna work on trying to protect the house, at least temporarily to keep my mother and any of her bounty hunters from getting in at least until I can get Jimmy safely away."  
  
"All right," Paige answered and went to the attic.  
  
Cole saw some crystals on the shelf, mumbled a few words in Latin, waved a hand over them and they started to glow. He was just about to place them around the perimeters of the house when he heard a familiar voice, that was once in his head, but now stood behind him in its own resurrected body.  
  
The former Source was regenerated by the clone Jockomo speedily created in his lab. In the Source's hand was a vile, filled with the hormonal aging potion that Jockomo made for him to destroy Cole.  
  
"How many times do you have to get vanquished for it to stick?" Cole asked.  
  
"That's exactly what I'd like to know about you, Balthazor. What do you say we find out."  
  
The former Source threw the vile at Cole's chest and a puff of smoke filled the air.  
  
****************************************************  
  
In the attic, Jimmie stared at the power stripping potion, hesitating to drink it. Jimmie glanced up at Piper.  
  
"Go ahead Jimmie. Cole's right. It's your only chance," Piper reassured.  
  
Jimmie drank the liquid, staggered, and fell on his knees. The girls rushed to his side, helped him up and he now seemed recovered and able to stand on his own.  
  
"Okay, Jimmie. Now try and shimmer out," Paige said crossing her fingers, hoping she mixed the potion correctly. With Cole standing over her the whole time, he'd made her jumpy.  
  
Jimmie closed his eyes, willed himself to be downstairs and nothing happened. He tried again, and still nothing.  
  
"It worked. I don't have my powers anymore," Jimmy declared with a mixture of sadness and relief.  
  
"Good," Piper said. "Let's all go down and get Cole." 


	11. Where's Jimmie?

Okay, Beba, Nieves & Bubbles. This one's just for you!  
  
Thanks Robyn & Michelle.  
  
I've got another two chapters to wrap this segment up and then I'll be taking a 3 week hiatus and will continue on with the story if you'd like me to.  
  
***************************  
  
As though it were in slow motion, Cole watched the former Source's potion hit him squarely in the chest before he had a chance to shimmer out and he could smell the material of his shirt burning in the smoke-filled room while he helplessly waited for the flames to consume his body.  
  
My God, he'd been through this so many times before and was just relieved that it was not at Phoebe's hands yet again. Jimmie was the last desperate thought that filtered through his mind before.. he looked down and saw that the only casualty was his black shirt, which had mostly burned away leaving just a few tattered strips of cloth hanging on his bare chest. Cole checked himself over for damage and found that he was left remarkably unscathed.  
  
"I don't understand what went wrong. You should be dead," the former Source shouted.  
  
"You first, Cole replied and formed a large energy ball in his hands."  
  
***********************************  
  
"Do you guys smell something?" Paige asked sniffing around the attic.  
  
"It's coming from downstairs," Piper declared in a state of panic. "I just hope that Cole hasn't set the manor on fire. Let's go. Come on Jimmie."  
  
Before they reached the stairs, Leo orbed in blocking their path.  
  
"The Source is downstairs battling Cole. You girls need to go down and help him while I orb Jimmie up to the Elders to keep him safe."  
  
"Honey, I thought you couldn't orb demons up there," Piper remarked.  
  
"But he's not a demon anymore right? You stripped his powers, remember?" Leo replied.  
  
"Oh right. Okay, come on Paige. I can't believe I'm saying this, but let's go save Cole."  
  
"You can't believe you're saying it? I can't believe I'm actually doing it." Paige mumbled.  
  
Leo wrapped his arms around Jimmie to orb him out and then let go of the boy when he saw that Paige and Piper had gone.  
  
"You're not really Leo are you?" Jimmie asked, with a look of horror forming on his face.  
  
"You're nearly as perceptive as your brother, only you're not him," Leo replied before morphing into Phaedra. "You're nothing more than an imitation, a poor man's Cole, and an experiment gone wrong."  
  
Jimmie tried to scream but Phaedra knocked him back against the wall with a wave of her arm and he fell to the floor, unconscious.  
  
Phaedra checked Jimmie's pulse, looked into the face that reminded her so much of Cole and stroked his cheek.  
  
************************************************************  
  
The Source managed to duck Cole's energy ball and made one of his own, only bigger and stronger.  
  
"Let's just see how invincible you are now," he said throwing the ball with perfect precision. Cole started running seconds before it was thrown, but it clipped him on the back and threw him to the floor hard.  
  
"Your goodness has made you weaker, Balthazor. This one should finish you off."  
  
Cole looked up as the former Source conjured another monstrous sized energy ball. He thought that he'd just about run out of nine lives as he saw it spiraling directly at him within inches of his head before freezing in mid- air.  
  
Cole saw the look of satisfaction on Piper's face at her handiwork and said, "don't get cocky. The old Source is packing a huge punch."  
  
"Finally I will have my revenge. We're just missing one Charmed One and then all my old scores will be settled all at once."  
  
"Not quite, Phoebe said as she orbed in with Leo and Darryl. We're the ones who have a score to settle with you. Paige get the crystals on the floor."  
  
"Crystals," Paige shouted and they flew into her hands. But before she could get them in position around the former Source, he blew them up with a bolt of lightning.  
  
"You can not defeat me. I am regenerated and have three times the strength I had before," he said.  
  
And just as they were all believing that their fates were doomed, the Source started to blink and lose his concrete form.  
  
"He's losing power, Cole said, still lying on the floor, feeling weak from that last blast. "Piper blow him up."  
  
"This can't be happening," the Source yelled.  
  
"No, not just yet. I have a better idea," Piper said and froze his body leaving his head free to speak.  
  
"Okay, Source, spill it. Tell me exactly how you got here and what your plans are or I'll make minced molecules out of you," Piper said and blew up a pot beside him for emphasis.  
  
"What are my plans? The same as they've always been. To rule the Underworld and destroy mankind. As for how I'm going to do it, you can take a wild guess. Your threats of killing me, leave me cold. I've died before and have come back. If Balthazor hadn't fought his possession as hard as he did, I'd have destroyed you all long ago."  
  
Darryl nodded at Cole as if to say he'd believed Cole without the Source's confession, but was glad he had finally been vindicated. Cole answered with a look of gratitude.  
  
Leo, Piper, Paige and Phoebe's mouths hung open as the old Source revealed his truth about Cole.  
  
"Oh my God, was all the words Phoebe could get out before her brain went numb.  
  
"All this time we thought you wanted to be the Source," Paige said to Cole."  
  
"We were soooo wrong," Piper said.  
  
"Yes we were," Leo reiterated.  
  
"Look, do ya think we could have this little apology session at another time? I don't think your freeze is going to last much longer, Piper," Cole pointed out and as he said the words, the Source thawed out, reached for his knife and was about to throw it at Phoebe when Cole summoned all the power he had left into one large energy ball and hurtled it at the blinking Source, exploding his essence into a thousand pieces.  
  
Cole leaned his head back against the floor, exhausted, and then shot up, his eyes bulging with concern. "Who's with Jimmie?" 


	12. Mine Fields

[[[[[[[[[Bubbles, Beba, Michelle (what you said about the small moments was the nicest compliment I ever got) Evil Angel and of course Nieves]]]]]]]]]]]]  
  
****************************  
  
"Leo, you did orb Jimmie up to the Elders, didn't you?" Piper asked.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Leo replied.  
  
"That was you in the attic before, right?" Piper asked, feeling a creeping sense of panic.  
  
"I haven't seen you since I orbed out to help Phoebe," Leo answered.  
  
"If that wasn't you upstairs, then who was it?" Piper asked and looked over at Cole who was already up and shimmering to the attic.  
  
Piper, Paige & Darryl ran up the stairs but Leo hesitated when he and Phoebe saw someone shimmering into the living-room.  
  
"Who are you?" Leo asked the beautiful, dark haired woman.  
  
"I believe that's Phaedra, Leo, Cole's mother," Phoebe answered.  
  
"Yes, we finally meet woman to woman," Phaedra said. Her form was now completely solid and she had a healthy glow about her.  
  
"I'm glad to see you're no longer stealing innocent people's bodies," Phoebe said.  
  
"No, I no longer need anyone's power to sustain me. I'm completely regenerated," Phaedra replied.  
  
"I'll go get Paige and Piper," Leo said urgently to Phoebe.  
  
"That won't be necessary, Leo," Phaedra said. "I'm not staying long and I have no immediate plans to hurt little Phoebe here."  
  
"I wish you'd stop calling me that," Phoebe said with annoyance.  
  
"You can go orb up with the others now. I'd like to have a talk with my former daughter-in-law if you don't mind."  
  
"It's all right, Leo. I don't think she's going to hurt me. Please go help Jimmie," Phoebe suggested.  
  
"Okay, but call if you need me," he replied, and orbed out.  
  
*****************************  
  
In the attic, Cole cradled Jimmie in his arms. His brother's face was drained of blood and his skin was stark white against Cole's tanned body. Cole rocked him gently, his eyes shutting out the sights and sounds of everyone around him.  
  
Paige and Piper's eyes were filled with tears when Leo orbed into the room.  
  
"Do something, Leo," Piper said. He won't listen to anyone."  
  
Leo nodded and knelt beside Jimmie, held out his hands and tried to heal him, knowing full well that he was already beyond saving.  
  
"It's not working. For God sakes, Leo, you're a healer. So heal him!" Cole flared, the tears brimming his eyes.  
  
"I can't, Cole. I'm sorry," Leo quietly replied.  
  
"No, that's not good enough. I came here for Jimmie's protection. I trusted you to help him and you all let him die," Cole spat angrily.  
  
"No we didn't, Cole," Paige said. "We were tricked. If we'd known that wasn't Leo, we would have protected him with our lives. You know that."  
  
"All I know is that my brother's dead and I'm still here. I've tried to be good and where has that gotten me? I lost my wife and now my brother, but not for long. I'm going to bring him back. Leo, I need you tell me where you threw the Grimoire. In it, is a resurrection spell I can use to save him."  
  
"You can't use dark magic Cole. If you do, you'll become evil again," Leo explained.  
  
"You think I care about that? If you won't tell me, I'll find another way of getting it."  
  
"Cole wait," Darryl cut in and moved forward to better make eye contact. "If you become evil again and bring Jimmie back like you said, you won't be helping your brother. You said you wanted him to have a good life, away from the darkness that you were brought up in. What kind of life do you think Jimmie could have if he comes back and you're evil? He'll become like you. He'll do unspeakable things and he'll be exactly the kind of person you never wanted him to be."  
  
"What else am I supposed to do Darryl?" Cole asked, his voice breaking with emotion.  
  
"Let me have him, buddy. You trusted me before to protect Phoebe and I did. Now you gotta trust me again to know what's best here and the best thing you can do for Jimmie is to let him go and let him be at peace."  
  
"No!" Cole exploded. Stay away from me, all of you. If anyone tries to come near me, I'll kill them."  
  
"Okay, Darryl replied, trying his best to calm Cole down. I think I can help. Don't go anywhere or do anything until I'm back. I won't be long, I promise. Okay?"  
  
Cole didn't answer and Darryl took it as a reply that he'd probably stay put at least for now and ran downstairs.  
  
*************************************  
  
"Before I leave, I wanted to give you a warning to stay away from Cole," Phaedra said.  
  
"We're divorced, remember? What makes you think I'd go near Cole now?" Phoebe asked.  
  
"Because maybe you've seen a bit of goodness in him and may be entertaining the notion that there still might be some hope for the two of you."  
  
Honestly Phoebe wasn't sure what she was thinking or feeling at the moment. Ever since the Source revealed the truth about Cole's possession, it was though she were walking in a mine field, not knowing which way to turn.  
  
"Well allow me to clear up any confusion you may be experiencing, dearie. Whatever kernel of goodness you saw in Cole will be a thing of the past shortly. You see, I know my son even better than you do. Right now he's kneeling over his brother's lifeless body and his insides are filling up with hatred and anger. It won't be long now before he turns and I will have my son back where he belongs."  
  
"Did you kill his brother?" Phoebe asked accusingly.  
  
"He was a clone, nothing more. I created him in a laboratory to serve my purpose and now he nearly has. So keep away, little Phoebe, or mama's sharp claws will tear you limb from limb."  
  
As Darryl ran down the stairs, Phaedra shimmered out leaving Phoebe quaking with anger.  
  
Phoebe shook her finger at Darryl and said, "That woman is a monster!"  
  
"I know, but never mind her. Cole needs you now," Darryl said.  
  
"Leo filled me in about his brother," Phoebe explained, "and Phaedra just told me he's dead. Is it true?"  
  
"Yeah, it's true and Cole's acting crazy with grief. He won't let anyone near him and he won't let go of Jimmie. He's talking about doing something evil to bring Jimmie back. I think you're about the only person who can get to him, Phoebe. Will you help him?"  
  
Without hesitation, Phoebe made a decision. "Take me to Cole."  
  
***************  
  
Note: My six year old daughter asked me to read this chapter to her and then she cried. I felt sooooo bad!  
  
Please don't hate me!!! I beg you. We all need a good cry sometimes, don't we? This was necessary to the story. Cole needed to go through this. But, I do swear to you that if I do my job correctly, tomorrow I will deliver presents that will make you smile. 


	13. The Reward

Okay, this wraps up the story for now. In 3 weeks I'll be back with more. I'm sorry, Nieves & Evil Angel that I made you cry but if my daughter can forgive me, then you can too! lol  
  
Thanks LozzieLiz for your nice note. Robyn, sorry I was soooo evil. I guess I have a little demon in me too! lol  
  
*********************  
  
When Phoebe entered the attic she was not prepared for the sight of Cole looking as though he had been blasted from the inside out. His eyes stared at her as she walked into the room but they didn't register her presence. If there was such a thing as hell on earth, Cole was there and if she didn't act fast, she felt that he'd become a permanent resident.  
  
As Phoebe looked into Cole's eyes, deeply for the first time in over a year, she realized something she hadn't before. That same haunted look was there the night Cole tried to kill himself, only somehow what she saw never made it into her consciousness. Now she knew why. If she had allowed herself to really look into those pain-filled eyes, she would have seen them as a mirror into her own heart and this she could not bear.  
  
For over a year since Cole became the Source and their child was ripped from her womb from the Seer with no more care than a mugger tears away a purse from his victim, Phoebe thought that she wasn't strong enough to handle the aftermath and believed she would surely break. Perhaps she didn't give herself enough credit for being strong or perhaps she just wasn't ready to test the weight of that pain on her slender shoulders. It just seemed easier to bury the feelings behind anger and denial and deal with them later. Only later never came...until now.  
  
Knowing the truth about Cole's possession, Phoebe had no choice but to finally give up her anger and in doing so, her heart was revealed and the emotions let loose in a torrent of feelings that flowed up to her eyes and cascaded in tears down her face.  
  
Phoebe stood in the middle of the room in front of her sisters and Leo and cried like a baby. She couldn't help the racking noises that came from her throat; they were the sounds of a dam finally cracking open releasing emotions that were simply too hard to contain. She tried to get herself under control but couldn't and heaved like a child who isn't used to dealing with such overwhelming sensations.  
  
Still, Cole didn't see her. He was in his own little universe, still cradling his brother in his arms.  
  
Piper made a move to run toward Phoebe, but Leo stopped her.  
  
"No, don't Piper. Let her be," Leo said. "I think we need to go downstairs and let them be alone."  
  
"What are you nuts? Phoebe is having a nervous breakdown and Cole is catatonic and you want us to leave them be? I don't think so. I'm getting Phoebe out of here," Piper said.  
  
"I think Leo's right, Piper," Paige chimed in. "I think we should leave them alone at least for a little while and give them both a chance to heal."  
  
Leo smiled at Paige, thinking that his sister-in-law was going to make a good Whitelighter afterall.  
  
"She'll be all right, Piper. I think this is what she needed," Leo said.  
  
Reluctantly, Piper agreed leaving her sister crying on the floor, and headed downstairs with Darryl and the others.  
  
Shortly after they were gone, Phoebe felt herself regain some of her control. She wiped her red eyes and her nose with a big flared sleeve, took some deep breaths and then walked slowly to Cole and sat down beside him. She was afraid he'd shimmer away if she came near them, but he didn't. In fact he didn't move a muscle. It was as though he were as stiff and lifeless as Jimmie.  
  
"Cole, you have to hear me, please. All this time you wanted my forgiveness for the terrible crimes you committed this past year, but I wouldn't forgive you. That was because I wasn't seeing you, just like you're not seeing me now. I know better than anyone how to hide from my fear so that's why I can see how very afraid you are now."  
  
Cole didn't answer her, but his eyes blinked and she knew he was listening.  
  
"I'm not so very good at one way conversations. You know, spoiled youngest and all, well until Paige came along that is. Okay I'm rambling, I know. You can tell me to shut up if you want."  
  
Still no response.  
  
"Fine, I'll do all the talking. At least I'll know I'll get the last word, something pretty hard to do in this house. So, should I tell you why you're so afraid? I'll take that blink as a yes. You're afraid because you thought that Jimmie was your one shot at forgiveness. I don't mean from me, but from yourself. You've done horrible things in your life and I always forgave you for them, but you never forgave yourself, did you? When you lost me, there was no one to tell you that you were good or that you were worthy. In fact, there was no one to tell you anything and for that I'm sorry Cole."  
  
Phoebe used her other sleeve to wipe the fresh tears that were falling.  
  
"I had my sisters and Leo to help me through my pain, but you had no one after we all abandoned you and that wasn't fair. You had always counted on me to be there for you through everything and when I cut you out of my life, my family went with me. That's what blood does. You had no one. But somehow, you got through it and I think you have Darryl to thank for that. He's such a good man, isn't he Cole? And then he introduced you to your innocent brother who reminded you of the person you could have been. You thought if I can save him, it'll be like saving myself. Am I right?"  
  
Phoebe reached out and smoothed out the hair on Cole's forehead and when she did, Cole closed his eyes and inhaled her scent.  
  
"I'm pretty good at this psychology stuff aren't I? Shall I continue? Well if you insist..."  
  
Phoebe placed her hand in Cole's. It felt warm and inviting and when he tightened their hold, Phoebe knew he was beginning to thaw.  
  
"When you couldn't save Jimmie, you thought that you couldn't be saved either and that there was no place, in heaven or hell, where you belonged. You're wrong Cole. Don't you see, you've already saved yourself just by loving Jimmie. You proved what an unselfish heart you have and you proved to all of us how much you matter, especially to me."  
  
"Have I?" Cole said, looking directly into Phoebe's eyes, trying to search her depths for honesty.  
  
"Yes, Cole you have," Phoebe replied with all the honesty in her heart.  
  
"Then why couldn't I save him?" Cole asked.  
  
"Don't you see? You have. Jimmie was lost until he met you Cole. He didn't know if he was good or evil and he could have gone either way. But you guided him to the light and now his soul is safe for all eternity."  
  
Darryl poked his head in the doorway to make sure everything was all right. Phoebe looked at him, signaling for him to stay.  
  
"Cole, Darryl's here to take Jimmie now. Will you let him?" Phoebe asked.  
  
Cole nodded his head and Darryl approached and lifted Jimmie carefully from Cole's arms.  
  
"You did the right thing, buddy. Jimmie's in good hands," Darryl said gently.  
  
"I know," Cole agreed, and half smiled to let his friend know how much he trusted him.  
  
When Darryl was gone, Cole felt the loss of Jimmie not only physically but spiritually as well. Without someone for him to look after and protect, Cole was as empty as he was the night he'd tried to kill himself.  
  
"Cole look at me," Phoebe pleaded and when he didn't, she raised his chin with her hand and said, "you're not alone anymore."  
  
Phoebe rose on her knees and wrapped herself around Cole's body in a hug that melded their two bodies into one. It was more tender then a kiss and more telling than any declaration of forgiveness that either one could have made.  
  
As they did so, a voice cleared loudly in the doorway and Phoebe and Cole looked up to see Piper, Page, Leo & Darryl smiling.  
  
Cole was immediately suspicious and disentangled himself from Phoebe and rose to his feet.  
  
"Why are you all smiling?" Cole asked. It was so completely surreal for them to be smiling that way at him and for a moment he thought that this had all been a sick dream.  
  
"We're smiling, Cole, because we know something you don't," Paige said still grinning.  
  
"Darryl, why are you still here? I thought you were seeing to Jimmie personally?"  
  
"I was Cole but then he sort of got away from me," Darryl explained cryptically.  
  
"Got away? How could that be? Did my mother take him?" Cole said in a panic.  
  
"No, Cole, your mother didn't take him," Leo said entering the room. "The Elders did."  
  
"What would the Elders want with Jimmie's body?"  
  
"How else could they resurrect him?" Leo said smiling.  
  
"As the words slowly sunk in, Paige, Piper and Leo made way to let someone come through the doorway."  
  
Cole could not believe his eyes when he saw Jimmie walking toward him, alive and healthy and smiling.  
  
"I don't understand," Cole uttered.  
  
"The Elders wanted to reward you Cole. You see they admit they made a mistake as we all have in thinking you had plotted for the Source's throne. They only found out when we all did from the old Source, that you fought against the Source's possession and sacrificed yourself unselfishly by taking on the Hollow to save us all. They thought that you were made to suffer needlessly and this is their way of making amends."  
  
"It's because of you that I'm alive. You saved my life, Cole," Jimmy said and hugged his brother.  
  
Cole hugged him back even tighter, nearly causing him to collapse, while Phoebe beamed at the sight of Cole having someone of his own blood to love him unconditionally the way she had her sisters.  
  
"Like I said, Jimmie, good is better," Cole said when he found his voice and laughed for the first time in over a year.  
  
***************************  
  
In the Underworld, Phaedra shimmered into the laboratory where Jockomo was bent over his tubes and chemicals.  
  
"Nice work, Jockomo," Phaedra said and rewarded him with a passionate kiss.  
  
"Is the Source destroyed?" he asked.  
  
"Yes finally, thanks to you and your wonderful chemistry set. You made him believe he was regenerated when the effects were really only temporary."  
  
"Yes, I told you it would work out just the way you wanted," he replied.  
  
"You did have me worried for a while. The old Source maintained his strength much longer than I'd have preferred and he nearly killed my son."  
  
"If he had, you could always make another clone, Phaedra."  
  
"No, some people can't be replaced. Our bargain was to save Cole's life. Lucky for you, he's still alive."  
  
"And what's next Phaedra?"  
  
"We celebrate the old Source's demise and we make plans for the new Source's arrival," Phaedra replied.  
  
"Who will be the new Source? Your son?"  
  
"No, my son hasn't yet seen the dark. Until he does, I have someone else in mind for the position."  
  
"Who?" Jockomo asked.  
  
"Me," Phaedra replied. 


End file.
